Chapter 80: Sona's request

Beta read by Shigiya

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Sitri Estate-

"Hikigaya Hachiman, I… I have a proposition for you."

Well that sounded ominous, the atmosphere felt as if I was dropped in a completely different world compared to the easy going atmosphere right outside the door.

I gazed at Sona, sitting all by herself in this giant library which was bigger than the local libraries in Kuoh. And for some reason the table and chair was right there in the center with Sona waiting for me patiently. I walked over calmly, wondering what this was all about in the first place. We've been friends for a long, childhood friends some could argue, so it was easy to sense whether something was wrong with the girl or not.

Now, it was just that, a tense atmosphere where I could see that something was occupying her thoughts as she gazed at the chessboard, while she held a single red pawn in her hand, while the other continued to move the chess pieces on the board.

Was she playing a game? It certainly looked like it.

"It feels like forever since we've had a one on one conversation." She said as I sat down, her hands continuing to move pieces around non-stop, a clear sign that she was stressed.

The Sitri heir adored chess, more than Rias herself by a long shot. Playing a game against yourself to relieve some stress rather than just relaxing or picking up a controller. At least Rias had certain hobbies like making Gundam models and painting them. Akeno liked to read books and listen to music. Aika enjoyed dancing, Kala loved travelling and Asia enjoyed taking care of her little dragon.

"It hasn't even been that long, last time we were alone together your sister nearly turned me into an ice statue." I said it as a joke but regretted soon after as I saw her face turn ugly frown.

I should have seen that coming.

"Would you like to play a game of chess against me!" The only way to have her smile or relax involved chess once again. Maybe playing a round would ease up the atmosphere by a few degrees.

Unfortunately, she shook her head. "There's no need to, I already know the outcome."

"Oh? That doesn't sound like you, Sona. I know you aren't the kind of girl who would refuse a game just because you're so assured of victory."

She chuckled, "Me, win? I think you have that backwards, Hachiman, I don't hold any confidence about winning against you anymore. We both know what the end result will be."

That comment threw me off a bit. Never in my life did I ever expect to see and hear Sona Sitri willingly give up a match just because she felt like there was no chance of winning. "Excuse me? I'm sorry but are you sick? Last I remember, you never would have uttered such words to anyone, not even if your life depended on it — also, I'm not that good."

"Humph, don't try to act humble in front of me, Hachi. I basically taught you chess and saw your growth, now it's only a matter of logical thinking to deduce that I can't win against you anymore. Why waste time knowing the inevitable end?"

My eyes narrowed, "The Sona I knew wouldn't back down so easily. Besides, don't you regularly play chess against Rias?"

"I haven't changed, Hachiman." She shook her head, moving a pawn piece to take out a bishop. "Rias is just around my level, so I know my chances of winning are quite high against her. It's important to know when an opponent is too strong and to retreat accordingly or to never start the fight in the first place."

The girl was overpraising me far too much that I was beginning to blush. Sure I grew more skilled and experienced with chess but I wouldn't call myself a master or a grandmaster by any sense of the word. The only reason I won against Sona was out of pure dumb luck and how she blundered at the end. Now, it seemed like she was merely using it as a poorly made excuse to not play against me… was there a hidden reason behind it.

She moved her Bishop to protect the Pawn, a rather confusing move that didn't make sense to me. It looked like the girl was quite keen on keeping this particular piece of the board and going so far as to even sacrifice stronger pieces for it. This… this wasn't her play style, she would play defensively at first and go for the offence at the slightest opportunity after hundreds of careful predictions in her mind. Her current self was deliberately throwing everything out of the window just for a single piece.

"By the way, how are things going with Issei?" I asked, curious about the boy and his current self.

"His training is proceeding smoothly, there hasn't been any sign that he can unlock the Balance Breaker form yet but I'm sure he'll be there soon."

Poor Issei, I could imagine the struggle to reach that level. "Knowing him, he's going to succeed sooner than later. Vritra mentioned how people like him are suited with such powers, thanks to their strong emotions."

Sona sighed, "I sure hope so, Issei is a boy who shines with his overflowing emotions and rather fiery personality — but that still can't make up for his lack of magical talent. He barely possesses enough magic inside of him to cast a single ball of magic. If it weren't for Tsubasa and Reya then he wouldn't have made any progress — he and Tsubasa especially are getting along quite nicely."

I see… that was a good idea to have others help Issei out with his training and have him catch up quickly to the others.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" She asked out of nowhere.

The first time? That was a long time ago, but the memory remained vivid in my mind.

"Yes, you came to visit the human world and Rias brought you to my house. And if I remember correctly, we kinda started on the wrong foot there, I think it didn't even take me five minutes to set you off."

Sona was flustered, her hands stopping midway from moving a piece. "I-It wasn't my fault! You were taunting me for no reason and calling me a 'typical arrogant oujo-sama with a spike up her rear!' Who wouldn't be angry over such a deeming description?"

My chuckle rang inside the library, those moments were quite precious in my heart. But it was the truth, when Sona first came here she barely paid me any attention and was far too uptight the entire time. Adding the fact that my impressions of Devils was still a bit rocky at that time when Rias revealed to me details about the Evil Pieces system.

"Mah, at least we both grew on each other over the years. I can't imagine us bickering the entire time for no reason and to have you insult me out of nowhere for every opportunity you got." I didn't fail to see the irony in my words. "But I'm glad to see how things turned out between us and we ended up becoming good friends. A bit corny I won't lie, but it's the truth."

The small smile on her face faltered, showing an expressionless face with a tinge of sadness within her eyes. She laughed silently, but it sounded hollow more than anything else. "Yeah… friends… that's how it has always been."

What was with this sudden weird atmosphere that was happening here? I wasn't a fool, I could see that she was dissatisfied with our current relationship for some reason. Now that I thought of it, our relationship never quite changed during the years, one could even say that it had become stagnant.

"Then again, we almost became husband and wife that one time. Thank god Serafall resolved the issue, it would have been a nightmare for both of us."

"A nightmare? Why? Don't you think I would have been a good wife?" She asked sharply, her glasses gleaming with killing intent. A bit weird she got offended over that point rather than the wedding… then again, she most likely misunderstood my meaning.

"Yes," I answered honestly, having her recoil backwards as she didn't expect such an answer from me. "Let's be honest here, you're more suited to become a businesswoman than anything else. You have excellent managing skills, you're a competent leader that knows how to bring forth the best potential of each peerage member and you're a true genius with an IQ probably twice as mine when it comes to academics."

The blush on Sona's face grew with each compliment I gave her. They were the truth which I never planned to hide. Furthermore, I even gave her these exact same compliments many times in the past — so why was she acting like this was the first time hearing such things?

"W-well, a businesswoman can be a good housewife!" She tried to counter argue.

"You can't cook, you don't know how to manage chores around the house, you're too bossy with a tendency to over control everything around you, you get mad easily, you're too bossy, there are so many things you want to do that I don't think will give you enough time to settle down and enjoy a married life — and did I mention about being too bossy?"

"..."

A vein throbbed on her forehead with the air getting more humid from her magic. I couldn't hold it anymore and ended up laughing, "Pft-ahahahahaha!" It was so easy to poke her buttons, in many ways she was like Rias.

Her eyes widened as she realised the reason behind my attitude, "You were messing with me!" She accused me, which I made no effort to deny and even nodded.

"Come on now Sona, you were basically asking for it with that kind of question." The girl returned to her chess game, probably trying to recover her inner peace.

"I still want you to give me a proper answer…"

Was that a pout? How cute, I wanted to pinch her cheeks.

"Well, I can't answer that as of now. You're still young and haven't finished your studies in highschool let alone university later on. Instead of wondering if you would be a good wife or not, it's better to concentrate your focus on strengthening your peerage and make a plan for your goal in life." She continued pouting, not satisfied with my answer. So I decided to throw her a bone. "But if you want a truthful answer, then you have nothing to worry about. You're fine the way you are, everyone has a different opinion and taste of their ideal partner."

"Coming from you I'll cherish these words." I barely heard her voice as she whispered them bashfully, still trying to act all mature and strict.

"Humph, quite the contrasting personality you have, Sona. One moment you act as an adult ice queen who's affected by nothing and the next you're no different than a pure innocent girl who blushes at the slightest thing. It makes the desire to bully you so prominent that I have to mentally hold myself back… I wonder if Serafall feels the same way?"

Her deadpan face only made me smirk, "I don't think my sister ever learned the meaning of the word holding back. And I'll look over your desire to 'bully' me as another ploy to get a rise out of me."

"If you say so," I said with a yawn, watching the same pawn somehow corner the queen and eat it soon after before getting a promotion to another queen. The opposing king was trapped without a way to escape, accomplishing a checkmate. "Congratulations are in order. You played a different style I wasn't familiar with and it was certainly very unpredictable for someone like you. I wouldn't have won like last time if you had used it."

"... I'm actually glad that I lost."

"—!"

I nearly believed my ears heard wrong, but judging from her complexion — I heard it right. What did she mean by happy to have lost? Sweat poured down my forehead as I sensed a terrible headache setting inside my mind. Though my heart also drummed like a loud drum for an entirely different reason.

"Sona, why did you call me here again?" We could continue having trivial conversation for hours if possible, but I had other places to be and had a meeting with Sirzechs once again later on in the evening.

"Hachiman, you're in a relationship with Rias as well as Akeno, right?"

I nodded to her answer.

"Then… I'll play a bit boldly today given you're still a human and I still have a chance." She opened her left palm where the red Evil Piece rested the entire time. It looked different from the rest, more twisted and warped in a sense. With vein-like patterns and an ominous aura around it. "Given your reaction, it shouldn't be a hard thing to figure out the name of this particular piece in my hand."

"Just… where did you acquire a Mutant Piece?" Yes, also known as Mutation Pieces. If reviving a person required more than one piece, then using one Mutation Piece would be sufficient in reincarnating that person instead of having to use several pieces. Mutation Pieces can be a Queen, Rook, Knight, Bishop, or Pawn. They are said to be very rare, and only one out of every ten High-Class Devils possessed the Piece. The Mutation Piece was said to be a bug in the Evil Pieces system that was kept for fun. Normal Evil Pieces could also change into Mutation Pieces, though this typically occured as a result of some significant event of the reincarnated devil acting as a catalyst.

Still, having one mutation was quite a rarity, even Rias didn't have one dispute being Lucifer's sister.

"M-My sister gave it to me."

I should have figured.

Her tone was shaking, including her entire body. "Hi-Hikigaya Hachiman, I, S-Sona Sitri, h-heir to the Sitri house, w-would like you to become my Pawn." Despite acting so maturely before, the current Sona in front of me was shaking like a leaf. Her skin was pale, not red out of embarrassment or anything like that. She was genuinely fearful at this moment, and that worried him quite a bit.

"Sona… you should know that I haven't even accepted Rias' proposal yet — why would I go behind her back to accept yours?" A genuine question that I wasn't trying to be mean or anything. I was merely curious why Sona was doing this now? "You never asked me before, well mostly."

The only thing I had to deal with was Tsubasa and Momo encouraging me to join the peerage, yet Sona herself never tried to directly ask me such a thing yet.

"I know. But the circumstances are different now. Back then, I was worried about her future battle with Riser that I expected she would turn you into a Devil. There was even a time where I believed that she had indeed turned you into a Devil in secret, to make you her trump card, which led me to stop my pursuit soon after. You can imagine my shock when I discovered Rias going into the Rating Game without you… it gave me hope." She sighed before taking a deep breath. "I was happy, content that she failed to get you even though I shouldn't, despite being her rival I was still a friend… yet I celebrated her failure."

"..."

"I became complacent, far too relaxed than I shouldn't have been. The next thing I know we're facing Kokabiel and then you're on a date with Rias. I panicked when I understood you would spend the night together, that she finally got you for real. But as I saw you a few days ago, still a human I was ecstatic and promised myself to never make the same mistakes of the past ever again. That's why I needed to act as soon as possible and make you mine!"

I sat there quietly listening to her words carefully. Was this a confession of love or a proposal to join her peerage? It felt like both honestly. It shook my heart, how could she have such feelings for me as well? It didn't make sense what she saw in someone like me. I wanted to believe that Sona wanted me to join her peerage only for my Sacred Gear and nothing else, that she only behaved like this to gain my attention.

But I long since stopped bringing up excuses like that.

Could I accept the offer though? If I became a Pawn of Sona then it was no different than backstabbing Rias who intentionally kept all her Pawn pieces intact and even rejected Issei. I couldn't do that to her, that wasn't my intention and it never will be. I did plan to accept her proposal soon after returning to Kuoh… like a surprise for all her hard work.

"So, Hikigaya Hachiman, do you accept it?" Sona's tone was firm but even her eyes began to grow moist, a sight that was twisting my heart in every direction. She must have already believed that I would reject her.

A real conundrum, I couldn't bring myself to decide

'Partner,' I heard Vritra's voice in my head.

'Hey, you've been real quiet since I got here..' I noticed how quiet it was lately which was somewhat unusual, but maybe he was resting.

'I had a dream of sorts, of a memory far in the past… we need to talk about this soon after we get back home.' Well, if that wasn't super mysterious on his part. 'Nevertheless, I digress, I see you are indecisive of this decision.'

'It's not like I can join both girls' peerage. But I also don't want to let them down. I hate this situation honestly. Any advice?'

Vritra waited a couple of seconds before giving me an answer that shocked me.

'Accept it.'

'What?'

I almost thought I misheard him. I expected the dragon to mention how my past decisions needed to remain firm and how this choice was mine to make.

'I know you might be confused, partner, but there is a good reason behind my suggestion. I am not talking about the fairness of how they deserve you after waiting for so long, rather I speak of this for our own good first and foremost. Furthermore, I have grown familiar enough with our current state both physically and spiritually. Our souls may have combined but still distinct enough to let us keep our personality separate. Think of this as an experiment, there is something I toiled around for months and have finally gained the confidence to go forth with after seeing the Sitri heir present the piece. Do not worry about betraying Rias, that will never happen. I need you to trust me on this — please. Plus do not forget about my own mastery over magic, Ajuka, I admit, is above me, but that does not mean he is without fault with his own creation. But I can guarantee that you won't change into a Devil… hrm, probably.'

Wow, this was the first time Vritra ever pleaded with me about anything for that matter. I didn't know what was going on with this experiment he mentioned, but I trusted him nonetheless. The dragon was willing to sacrifice many himself in the past just to keep me alive, how could I not believe him with my life? My debt towards him was ever growing with a sign of ending, and I didn't want to repeat any incident from the past ever again.

'Fine, I trust you.'

{Break}

Was she making the right decision here?

After she asked Hachiman whether he was willing to become her Pawn, he became quiet. The silence was starting to weigh on her, already the chances of him accepting was low but with each passing second it was beginning to turn abysmal.

Sona knew Rias would hate her for it but she was willing to take the hate and blame without backing out. It was a selfish desire that stewed within her heart ever since the relationship between her and Hachiman began to mend and bloom into a friendship. At first, she coveted Delete Field like anyone would, having such a versatile member in her peerage would be a great boon. But slowly those thoughts died bit by bit until she only wanted him more than the Sacred Gear.

He was one of the few people she could interact with normally and forgot her role as a Sitri heir. Hachiman treated her without care of her background, he never asked anything from her unlike most devils that wanted more political power in her family and the two shared many traits that made it easy for them to share topics. He was gifted with intelligence, no matter how much the boy denied, it was plain to see his brilliant mind. In chess he started as a newbie to now having surpassed her which blew Sona's mind.

And to be honest, she was secretly happy after getting checkmated by him. Neither feeling disgust or sadness over her loss, which opened her eyes to her true feelings. It wasn't supposed to happen, they rarely spent time together and he saw her as a friend, that much was obvious.

Sona held herself back. For Rias sake, she needed a powerful member to defeat Riser. Yet in the end, that managed to eliminate the second youngest Phenex heir on her own. Apparently there was a promise between those two, something about reforming Devil society.

Yet despite all of this, she was stuck by the sidelines and forced to watch Hachiman get closer and closer to Rias and her group. At that point, wasn't he basically already part of her peerage? She tried to interact with him more, but it never worked out given her responsibilities and his duties keeping them seperate for long durations. It was basically impossible to even attempt going beyond the line of pure friendship and colleagues.

She hated it, practically abhorred it. It was so clear to her that she played such a minor role in his life that unless some major action wasn't taken then their relationship wouldn't budge an inch forward.

The part that broke the camel's back was when word reached her ears about them sleeping together and becoming lovers. It frustrated her to no end, Rias had everything yet she still desired more, to make him her Pawn!? It was greed at its finest.

"A-Ah, I guess I was being too hasty… and unreasonable." Not wanting to get rejected by him, she decided to back away first. This was a mess, she called him here out of desperation and delusional thoughts after Serafall gave her a Mutant Piece. She rushed at the opportunity and invited him without even thinking ahead, it wasn't until she brought up the piece that her logical side began taking over.

This was a mistake.

What if their relationship became awkward after this? The idea of them having an underlying tension whenever they met was an ugly thought for Sona.

"Forget this ever happened," she said, wanting to leave this room as soon as possible. "Don't worry, I won't bring this matter up ever aga—" she was stopped midspeech when his hands grabbed onto her wrist. The action puzzled the girl greatly, unable to comprehend why he was doing this.

"Umm," he scratched his cheeks, looking at the floor before closing his eyes and sighing. "You know what? Let's do it."

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"...eh?"

Was she dreaming?

"Come on, just do it, I know how short the process is so it should take a few seconds or a minute at most."

He was being serious… if this was a dream then she didn't want to wake up from it. The coldness in her chest vanished and was filled with warmth that grew each passing second that it was becoming unbearable. Her body moved on its own before she could even realise what was happening — she had already closed the distance between them.

"A fair warning beforehand, I won't lie to you given you're a long time friend but there is a large possibility that this might not work and I'll stay a human according to Vritra… A-Ah, Sona, you're a bit too close for confor—gurgh!!"

At that moment, she closed the distance between them and had her arm reach around his neck with a tight hug. She neither felt embarrassment nor guilt, just pure joy and happiness that overwhelmed her. She didn't care if it worked or not, he accepted her request and that was all she needed to hear.

"C-C-Can't… breath…! Too… TIGHT!"

{Break}

-Gremory garden-

Koneko did not like spending too much time inside the manor, it was far too big and empty at times. Rias was having a panick attack as well as going ballistic when she discovered that someone disintegrated some of her Gundam figurine collection. Now she was on the war path for the perpetrator, Koneko would have helped but there was no scent of anyone inside aside Rias and Hachiman.

Speaking of Hachiman, she did not miss that particular scent on him during dinner a few days ago. It smelled so familiar that it made goosebumps spread across her body.

"It can't be…" in the past, there was a person who protected her against all dangers. Keeping her safe and happy during dark times. She didn't remember much of her earlier years, just that her sister had always been there for her and made her happy when she felt sad. But then the incident happened which changed her life, where drunken with power she killed the King and became a wanted criminal and abandoned her.

When she told the story to Hachiman he did not share her opinion, stating that an older sister like that could never abandon their little sibling. Koneko wanted to believe him, she truly did, but… what was even the point of changing her opinion?

"Your story doesn't make sense to me, Koneko. Your sister obviously cared about you and loved you dearly. How could she have changed so drastically just because she used Senjutsu?"

"You don't understand, Senjutsu is tainted by evil and can change anyone for the worst." She remembered saying that to him, angered slightly that he wouldn't listen to her and continue looking inside Kuroka's case.

"Then why aren't you going for my neck? That time Baraquiel brought me back you healed through other means other than Devil magic. You used even used it during training and when fighting against Riser's peerage during the rating game. Experiencing the power yourself, you didn't start going on a rampage out of nowhere."

He didn't understand, she was only using the bare minimum all of those times. Keeping a tight lid on herself and being conscious of every movement and change in emotions. "You don't understand, senpai." That was all she said, wanting to end this conversation right then and there.

"Perhaps, but Vritra had explained to me how Senjutsu works, while doing my own research on it and you must admit, something doesn't seem right about this whole thing. I'm not trying to defend her actions… well, actually, I kinda am. But still, it's better to judge her after knowing the full truth, maybe she was pushed to a corner and was left with no choice."

"She still abandoned me."

"True, that is something I admit she could have prevented. Though when you look at it in a certain way, she was protecting you by staying far away. As an SS-rank criminal, everyone related to her would have been hunted down mercilessly — including you. If I was an older brother with a little sister, that's the last thing I would have wanted to happen. Better focus their full attention on me and have my little sister hate me as well, as long as she's safe then that's all an older sibling would want."

"..."

They stopped talking about this particular subject soon after. Even today she still remembered that moment clearly in her head, unable to forget.

Again she remembered that Kuroka still left her and she now suddenly appeared once again in the Underworld. Koneko grew afraid, suspecting that something terrible could happen to Hachiman because of her sister. Senjutsu was powerful, something that bypassed all defences and strengthened the user itself. Her sister was already strong enough to kill a High-Class Devil years ago, then what about now?

Woosh!

"—!"

The white haired bishop's body went still as the wind grew stronger. The floral smell of flower and dirt reaching her nose coupled with a third scent made Koneko feel fear, a sense of unease that made her turn her head to the right where she saw a person peacefully sleeping on top of a branch. Clad in a revealing black kimono that barely hid her figure coupled with two tails swinging back and forth lazely.

"Kuroka onee...-sama," she stood up, her legs moving to the exist until she noticed a barrier surrounding the garden.

"My my, Shirone, your sister came to see you again and you can't even say hello?" She spoke calmly with a hint of amusement in her tone. "It isn't easy to slip by a Super Devil, so I hope my little sister will cooperate with me, nya~!"

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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, Harry Potter and my 3 other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post monthly commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.